You may spend hours preparing for a conversation, stay quiet even when you have something to contribute, or replay an interaction long after it ends. Perhaps you feel comfortable one-on-one, but presentations, interviews, or being the center of attention bring a rush of anxiety. Or maybe you're an athlete, musician, or performer who feels confident in practice but struggles to access that same confidence when the pressure is on.
When worries about how you come across begin affecting your relationships, career, performance, or everyday choices, therapy can help you feel more comfortable being yourself and doing the things that matter to you.
At NY Health Hypnosis & Integrative Therapy, Dr. Deborah Teng helps adults and teens navigate social and performance anxiety. Her approach is individualized, combining practical strategies for managing anxiety with a deeper understanding of the thoughts, experiences, and expectations that may be contributing to it.
Social anxiety can pull your attention inward during an interaction. Instead of following the conversation, you may find yourself monitoring your expression, choosing every word carefully, or trying to figure out what the other person thinks of you. That kind of constant self-monitoring can make it difficult to feel present even with people you want to know better or already care about.
Dr. Deborah Teng helps clients explore the expectations and beliefs that make social situations feel threatening. Treatment may address pressure to be liked, discomfort with uncertainty, or the belief that an awkward moment reveals something about your worth. Together, you can recognize how these patterns influence your choices and practice responding with greater flexibility and self-trust.
Her integrative approach draws from CBT, ACT, mindfulness, and clinical hypnosis when appropriate, combining deeper understanding with practical strategies. Your goals might include initiating a friendship, expressing a different opinion, setting a boundary, or staying engaged in a conversation without needing to get every word right. Progress is shaped around the relationships and experiences that matter to you.
Whether you're presenting to colleagues, stepping onto a stage, competing in a sport, or speaking up in a meeting, performance anxiety can make it difficult to feel confident in moments that matter to you. You may know you're capable, yet find yourself overwhelmed by nerves, second-guessing your preparation, or worrying about how others will perceive you.
For professionals, this might mean turning down a speaking opportunity, holding back in meetings, or questioning whether you're ready for a leadership role. For athletes, musicians, actors, and students, it might mean struggling to perform as comfortably in competition, auditions, or performances as they do in practice. Even when things go well, the anticipation beforehand and self-criticism afterward can be exhausting.
Dr. Teng helps clients explore what makes these moments feel so loaded, including perfectionism, fear of evaluation, and the expectations they place on themselves. Drawing from CBT, ACT, mindfulness, and clinical hypnosis when appropriate, she works with you to manage anticipatory worry, respond to physical anxiety, and stay engaged when attention turns toward you.
Clinical hypnosis offers a way to practice relaxation and focused attention. Through guided exercises, you can learn to notice and soften physical tension, settle into steadier breathing, and gently bring your attention back to what you want to communicate. Hypnosis may also include mentally rehearsing a challenging situation, giving you space to practice responding with greater composure. These skills can help you redirect attention from monitoring how nervous you appear toward your message, your audience, and the task in front of you.
Treatment is shaped around your goals, whether that means delivering a presentation, showing up to your next race with a clear mind, taking on leadership responsibilities, or contributing more freely at work and school. You can work toward trusting your preparation, handling an imperfect moment, and giving your ideas the attention they deserve.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the most extensively studied treatments for social anxiety. It helps people recognize thinking patterns and behaviors that maintain anxiety and develop new ways of responding. Treatment can include gradually approaching feared situations, creating opportunities to practice skills and build confidence. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) offers another approach, using mindfulness and acceptance to help people participate in meaningful activities even when anxiety is present.
Research also supports clinical hypnosis as a tool for reducing anxiety. A 2019 meta-analysis of 17 clinical trials found that hypnosis reduced anxiety compared with control conditions, with greater benefits when combined with other psychological interventions than when used alone.
Dr. Teng brings these approaches together according to each client’s needs and goals. Therapy can address the thoughts and patterns surrounding anxiety, while clinical hypnosis offers guided practice in relaxation and focused attention. The aim is to develop skills you can draw on in the conversations, presentations, and opportunities that matter to you.
Book a free 15-minute phone consultation to tell us what you’re looking for and explore whether working with her feels like a good fit. In-person appointments in Soho and virtual therapy throughout New York State.
